Wait For Me
by Damonficgirl
Summary: Damon finds the white oak stake and in a moment of recklessness is ready to go after Klaus solo, forcing Elena to confront her emotions.


**Wait For Me**

**Summary: Damon finds the white oak stake and in a moment of recklessness is ready to go after Klaus solo, forcing Elena to confront her emotions. **

**D/C: The Vampire Diaries and its characters are not mine. **

"What's so urgent?" Elena sounded irritated as she answered her door, it was late, and she'd been in bed when Damon had arrived and pounded on her front door. She was wearing blue and white flannelette pyjama pants with a black singlet. The cold night air made her shoulders tingle. He wore black jeans and a dark grey t-shirt with his black leather jacket open over the top but the cold didn't even register in his agitated state.

"You need to disappear for a while," Damon explained.

"What? What's going on?" Elena asked, fear rising inside of her.

"I found it Elena, the last white oak stake, the one he hid," Damon explained. "I'm going after Klaus, you need to lie low, disappear for a while until this is all over. I don't want them trying something on you like, like Rebekah did to me," Damon gave her a tortured look. It wasn't what Rebekah had done to Damon had troubled him, it was the idea that Klaus might try something similar on Elena.

"How did you find it?"

"It's a long story, there's no time, I have to do this before Klaus finds out we've got it. Stefan agrees."

"But the bloodline. Damon we don't know which one you and Stefan belong to. You could die," Elena emphasised the last three words, her voice showing her horror at the idea. She crossed her arms against her chest defensively. The night air felt very cold. Why were they having this conversation on her porch?

Damon gave her a long look, "You still don't understand do you?" There was a pause that spoke volumes, a pause that made it hard for Elena to hold his gaze but she did. "I'm willing to take that risk to keep you safe."

"Well I'm not. You could kill Caroline as well." Elena's eyes were burning, she didn't understand why he was being so hot headed and irrational. They were a team, all of them, but most of all they were a team, had been a team since Klaus had turned everything upside down, why did he still have these times when he threatened to go off on his own? Didn't he respect her by now, hadn't she earnt that?

"I know you're a small town girl and you act like you'll never make any friends other than Bonnie and Barbie but you will Elena, you will grow up and leave this town and have an amazing life, because I'm going to make sure you get that chance."

"No you're not, because I can't lose you, any of you," Elena protested.

"Blondie really means that much to you? Because if this is about Stefan, Stefan is a mess and we both know it. He's an alcoholic Elena, only an alcoholic can give up drinking, Stefan needs blood. We have to stop kidding ourselves, he's no good for you, we're no good for you. Worse things could happen than a few vampires getting killed, we're all dead anyway," Damon reminded her.

"Do you not get that I can't lose you? You and Stefan don't get to decide who matters to me. I choose you Damon, I choose needing you, and wanting you and you don't get to take that away just because you want more than I'm offering right now."

"Right now? Like I ever stood a chance? Prince Stefan is back on the wagon, more or less, he'll be holier than now again before you know it and you'll forget I ever meant anything to you."

"Stop making this about Stefan. Is that why you want to kill yourself?" the words were fuelled by anger, by the desire to expose how ridiculous he was being, but as soon as they were out of her mouth she realised that the only thing exposed was the truth between them. As much as she tried to hide it from herself Elena knew her rejections tortured Damon.

"Because it would be easier than loving you?" Damon asked, his eyes wild and desperate. "I may have considered that."

Elena's face fell, shattered by guilt. "I don't want to hurt you."

"But you do."

"We just need more time to work things out. We'll find out who sired Rose and then we'll work out if it's okay to get rid of Klaus."

"And us? How will we work that out? Do we flip a coin? Heads it's Stefan, tails it's Damon," Damon sneered.

Elena shook her head. "It's both of you, in different ways at different times. Everyone has baggage."

"What way are we Elena?" Damon asked. "Right now? Because I can't tell if we're friends or enemies or…" He couldn't say it.

"We're more?" her voice was thick and the words were hard to say but she could see he needed her to say it. He needed her to bridge the artificial divide she'd put up between them.

"Sometimes I think you really see me," he whispered.

"I'm trying to. I just need more time."

"I can wait, but I need to know what I'm waiting for."

"This," she answered and Elena walked towards him and held his cheeks with her palms and pushed her lips against his.

Damon responded eagerly and a jolt of craving and hunger and relief flooded him. He wanted so much more but he was so desperate for any small reciprocation that it was enough. It was enough that she wanted to kiss him, if one day there might be a chance, that they could be more than this; more than stolen moments and morning after regrets.


End file.
